Positions Reversed
by wakawaka22
Summary: An imaginary timezone. Naruto has left Konoha for good, and meets Sasuke along his travels. Tsunade has to deal with an angry Kazekage-to-be, and other precious people of the blonde's, all the while sorting out her own emotions. What has Konoha come to?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi again. I'm not really sure as yet where this will lead, but bear with me, okay? Might include eventual SasuNaru... No idea. Basically this is me exploring the non-AU world, where Naruto is **_**not**_** some poor guy who has to chase after bastard Sasuke. This is **_**strong**_** Naruto; he will show the world.**

**Heh heh.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

**Edit: Due to the ridiculously small summary character limit, I just want to add some stuff here. Genres will include Angst, Suspense, Romance and Drama. There will be slight SasuNaru Yaoi at the beginning. Not sure if there will be in the long run though.**

* * *

This was nothing compared to the Uchiha's own hatred. This darkness emanating from his blonde friend – hopefully that term was still valid – was an all-consuming kind, the kind that spread and slid under your skin, thick and silky and almost tangible.

"Goodbye, Sasuke. It was nice knowing you!" The blonde's voice wasn't empty, not like Sasuke's had been when he'd left his team behind for Orochimaru. Instead, it was filled with emotion. The only problem being, it was the _wrong_ kind of emotion.

His voice was erratic, if that was even possible; as if it would have exploded from the Kyuubi vessel had it not been released at that moment. His voice was a mixture of excitement, regret, pleasure, and a tinge of haughtiness. Not the kind of childish haughtiness he had possessed when younger, but the kind that was justified, the kind that Sasuke himself had hoped to achieve, and still continued to hope. It was also the kind that was realised only one way: with the blood of a powerful man on his hands.

That man being one of the three legendary Sannin: Orochimaru.

OOO

It hadn't been evident at first. The blonde did missions, enthusiastic as usual, 80% of the time claiming how good he was and how he'd beat the Uchiha's ass in no time and bring him back to his senses, back to Konoha.

But slowly, surely, his many smiles became faker and faker. They never decreased in numbers, oh no, their consistency went so far as to even scare her. However, they'd never quite reach his eyes. She'd brushed it off, thinking he was undergoing a rough patch and when the time was right would reveal whatever brilliant plan he'd cooked up. To 'save' Sasuke, no doubt.

But it had never happened. Three weeks after noticing the blonde's fake smiles, he'd given them all a letter and a giant hug, telling them not to open it until midnight. The Rookie 9, Sand nins – who were on a short vacation during this time of peace and decided to spend it in Konoha –, and even Tsunade and Jiraiya had suspected nothing. It sounded like exactly the kind of spontaneous, out-of-the-blue thing Naruto would do.

That night, as the clock struck twelve, Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade, Jiraiya, even the old ramen-stall owner and the Rookie 9 gang opened their letters.

Gasps throughout Konoha were heard.

She remembered her own letter as if it were specially ingrained in her mind by some kind of jutsu. Of course, she kept it in a locked box along with all her other Sasuke treasures. This one wasn't from Sasuke, however. No, it was from her other teammate.

_Hi Sakura!_

No '–chan', she noticed absentmindedly.

_I know how it's been hard for you, with Sasuke gone and all. And I'm really thankful for the extra attention that you've showered on me, for that. _

She'd been heartbroken when Sasuke had left her; Naruto had been her pillar of support throughout the ordeal and she felt it was her duty to return the favour in kind, and the only way she knew how.

By caring.

_But the time has come. I can't stand it anymore; first the villagers, and now Sasuke? I'd considered him a rival, a comrade, a friend... But never mind about that, I didn't write this to rant about Sasuke._

_The important thing is, so many people have abandoned me; if not, abusing me. Of course, you, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and the others have treated me wonderfully. But, I'm just starting to realise, is this enough? Is having a few friends, friends who might one day die at the hands of my former friend... Having a friend betray me is enough; I don't think I'd be able to endure the pain if my friends died at the hand of said former friend. Not if I could do something about it._

_I mean, why spend my life protecting a village who hates me, protecting friends who either betray me or don't need my protection... Ero-sennin has been teaching me some pretty cool moves, but they aren't enough. Not if I want to beat Sasuke._

_And so, by the time you are reading this, I'd have left. Left the village, for good. I'm not coming back, Sakura. Don't get me wrong; I'm not going to betray you guys or Konoha, I'm just going to find my place in this world. Travel around, pick up new jutsus... When the time comes, I'll come back, of course, to protect you guys and Konoha. You're still my friends, and Konoha's still my home village. Nothing will ever change that, be assured._

_Don't bother looking for me. I've taken certain precautionary measures, thought out everything these past few weeks. I know you noticed; I saw the glances you sent my way. But not once, not _once_ did you ask me if anything was wrong. But it's okay, I'm used to it._

Reading that sentence, Sakura felt horrible.

_So this here's goodbye, Sakura. For now. Don't worry, I'll be okay. I can handle myself in this harsh, cruel world. Been doing it my whole life. _

Sakura's heart clenched.

_And now I have to write the others their letters (don't want them all fighting for a piece of my awesomeness!), so I'll end this here._

_See you in a few years, Sakura._

_Naruto._

_P.S. Sakura, I hope you and the gang go to Teuchi's often. Now that I'm gone, old man's business can't be too good *grins*_

Her vision started to blur, and to her horror she noticed she was staining the fragile paper with her tears. _NO! I can't let Naruto's last gift to me get dirty! _She began rubbing furiously at her eyes, getting rid of the tears there. Next, she used a drying jutsu and got the paper back to normal, even if it looked even more fragile than ever.

_Fragile, like the relationship between him, Sasuke and I._

Tears streaked down her cheeks, and she realised ashamedly that she'd started crying again. No, ninjas don't cry! She was a proud, _strong_ kunoichi! She wasn't about to break down!

But it had been too hard for her. Even Inner Sakura has slunk away to the confines of her mind, the usually feisty spirit subdued and sporting a few tear stains of her own. Defeated, Sakura crept into bed, not even bothering to brush her teeth, and cried herself to sleep for the 2nd time in two years.

OOO

Having read the letter, Tsunade was boiling with rage. Not at Naruto _exactly_, though she was mad at him too, but more of his _idiocy._ How in the world did he expect her _not_ to go searching for him? She treated him like family! She'd lost her loved ones, and she wasn't about to let him go too. She was adamant about that fact.

She was certain, once the blonde had been found and some sense knocked into his head, that he'd stay. But, much as she didn't like it, a sense of doubt crept into her mind. It was Naruto's lifelong dream to be Hokage, but by running away, he'd given up that dream. Forever.

Uzumaki Naruto just might be serious about this escapade of his. And, knowing him, he was not going to give up on what he'd started. However, much as Tsunade appreciated his determination, she couldn't help but hope that it failed him in this.

Her conflicting emotions scared her. Tsunade had never felt so vulnerable since Orochimaru's offer before she became the Hokage.

After reading the letter, she had sent 10 ANBU out to search for Naruto. A little unnecessary, maybe, but the Hokage had emotional attachment to this boy, and he'd improved greatly these past two years with regards to Sasuke's departure. He'd also been reported to have spent days alone in his house on end, not leaving even for ramen. If he'd been working on some new jutsus, which was highly likely, then she figured she'd need all the ANBU she could get.

Picking up her phone, she planned to dial for all of the important people in the blonde's life, requesting an immediate, urgent meeting. She needn't have bothered, right as she was about to press the first button four simultaneous knocks resounded on her door. Wait no, one came from the window.

Kakashi.

And standing in the recently opened doorway (whose door seemed to be lying broken and splintered on the ground): Iruka, Jiraiya and Gaara. The latter shinobi floated in gracefully on a pile of sand, before resting directly in front of the Hokage, face emotionless. The Kazekage-to-be had always had a soft spot for Naruto. Just as she was about to smile and greet her late-night visitors warmly, Gaara's cold voice spoke.

"Explain. Now."

She slumped back in her chair, looking down. It was going to be a long night.

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_**So... How? Review please. What do you think should happen? What do you **__**want**__** to happen?**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok Here's the next chapter. This A/N is really important, so please don't skip it.**

**Firstly, if you're okay with SasuNaru yaoi, go on ahead and read. This chapter is a little less action and stuff, mostly concentrating on what kind of relationship Sasuke and Naruto have so far. Don't worry, it's JUST this chapter (as far as I can see), and the action and stuff will continue next chapter and so on. This chappie is a little longer than the previous one :)**

**If you're not (okay with SasuNaru yaoi), please continue reading this. Okay, there will be a little yaoi in this chapter. Not alot, not very graphic. About 3 sentences. If you don't have VIOLENT OBJECTIONS, you should be fine. If you do... You might want to reconsider continue reading this fanfic :( **

**Disclaimer: No own Naruto.**

**An apology to Konaminae Nara, there's a distinct possibility that this will turn out to be a yaoi :'( Sorry, but it seems the power of SasuNaru is too strong! And Sasuke ****_is _co-main character. Sorry again, I hope you still continue reading! Might not end as a SasuNaru tho, maybe just now... Not sure.**

* * *

They had been meeting up for little romps for a while now; the blonde completing his missions as fast as possible in order to look for his raven-haired 'lover' without any of the villagers knowing. They'd meet, and Sasuke would pounce on him without mercy, tearing his clothes apart and ravishing his lithe body. Naruto always brought along a pair of spare clothing every mission for this very reason; after completing his mission at the speed of light, he'd strip off his bloody, torn cloths and put on a clean, fresh pair for Sasuke. It wasn't because he wanted to look good for Sasuke, but rather because Naruto's clothes weren't fit to be used for rags let alone worn and it would be extremely suspicious of the blonde went home wearing a clean uniform when his fighting style involved blood. He had the Kyuubi to heal him; he tended to let the enemy hurt him in order to find an easy opening.

Different, and arguably stupid, but it worked for him.

The first time they'd met up, it had been completely by accident. Shocking, but their 'routine' had started out that way.

-Flashback Start-

_Naruto leapt from tree to tree, letting the peaceful surrounding forest calm his frazzled nerves. He didn't know why, but ever since leaving the Country of Wave after completing his mission – obviously a success –, a deep sense of foreboding had settled in the pit of his stomach. Most people wouldn't be bothered by it, but with the Kyuubi in him, Naruto's gut feelings were usually rather accurate._

_The weird thing was, this feeling wasn't necessarily foretelling of something bad. It was... simply telling him that something was about to happen. Something __**big.**__ And he had better be prepared to face it._

_Naruto sighed heavily. He was probably overanalyzing things again; giving himself a headache for no apparent reason. Leaping from tree to tree, he suddenly felt immensely tired. Although he had greatly matured, his brain still wasn't too used to all the thinking he did now._

_Sighing once more, he landed in a clearing roughly 4 metres in diameter, surrounded by small bushes with unidentifiable yellow flowers. It was perfect for taking a short break._

_Pleased with himself, Naruto stretched, leaning back against the smooth trunk of a tall tree._

_He didn't notice the carefully hidden chakra of another presence._

_OOO_

_Sasuke watched a butterfly flutter among some nameless yellow flowers. Their vibrancy reminded him of a certain blond idiot. ARGH! He smacked himself on the head. He thought of that blonde WAY too much, he – _

_Someone was here._

_Sasuke was instantly on the alert, crouched in the grass, eyes scanning the forestry around him and the small clearing behind, kunai in hand. His eyes landed on a ninja. A Konoha ninja. A Konoha ninja that had been on his mind mere seconds ago._

_...Naruto?_

_What was his ex-teammate doing here? Had he seen him? Was he about to go on one of his hour-long speeches that Sasuke abhorred so much but yet couldn't seem to just kill the blonde?_

_Questions stirred in Sasuke's mind, but were put to rest the second he saw Naruto sit against a tree trunk._

_Figures._

_The blonde hadn't even sensed that he was here. Naruto stretched, and Sasuke was given a glimpse of smooth, tanned skin, before the blonde's jumper covered it again._

_Sasuke felt something wet against his chin._

_He noticed, with some disgust, that he'd been drooling._

_Wiping the drool away with the heel of his hand, an evil smirk formed on Sasuke's lips. A virtual light bulb suddenly appeared above his head as an evil idea snaked its way into his mind. Standing up, he brushed himself off. He didn't even bother hiding his chakra now; he knew the blonde was no match for him in a real fight._

_He pounced._

_The blonde stood up quickly, startled, as he sensed Sasuke's presence. "Sasuke?" But his mouth quickly clacked shut as the very person he called for slammed into him, ripping off his clothes. "Wha–"_

_Sasuke tore off the blonde's uniform, getting greedier by the second as more and more skin was exposed to him. Licking his lips subconsciously, the raven proceeded to thoroughly ravage his blonde._

_OOO_

_So extremely aroused that his member ached, Sasuke couldn't help but hesitate as he lined the head of his cock with Naruto's stretched hole. Something... he needed something before he could properly continue._

"_Teme! What are you waiting for! Hurry up!"_

_Seeing Naruto's flushed, pouting face, Sasuke almost came right then and there. But as impatient as both of them were, Sasuke still had one more thing he needed to have before he could actually enter the blonde._

"_N-Naruto...", he panted, "I... Are you sure... Are you sure you want this? Like, truly sure you want this?"_

_Naruto got over his shock quickly, and hurriedly nodded._

_Sasuke thrust in._

_OOO_

_Sasuke glared venomously at the blonde. Inwardly, of course. Outwardly, his face was as blank and expressionless as ever. After his little slip-up earlier... Sasuke inwardly shuddered. The blonde had insisted on cuddling, and Sasuke, exhausted as he was, just didn't really have the heart to refuse, especially since Naruto was naked, warm – it was night now – and looked quite pathetic with his sore ass and puppy-dog eyes._

_He relented._

-Flashback End-

But that was all Naruto wanted, all Naruto had _needed, _for the time-being. To be able to lie there with Sasuke, staring up at the – usually – night sky... The blonde loved those moments, glad that Sasuke was willing to give him them. To just forget about everything in their messed-up world and enjoy the feel of being with another, being with his love...

Sasuke had been tense at first, of course, but had slowly relaxed and allowed Naruto to cuddle with him. When Naruto would eventually fall asleep, however (sex with a sexually-frustrated Sasuke was incredibly tiring), by the time he awoke, Sasuke would be gone, the only trace of him some lingering chakra from a jutsu Sasuke always put to make sure no one disturbed the slumbering blonde.

Not nearly as good as waking up to a warm body beside him, but touching nonetheless.

However, after a few months of this, Naruto realised he just couldn't take it anymore. He'd been going through a particularly rough patch of his life at that time, and had really needed some love. _Love_, not lust. The Kyuubi container had felt as if he really was going to snap.

Thus, it was a few days later that Naruto found himself once more in Sasuke's arms, staring up at the starry night sky after a particularly energetic and stress-relieving bout of sex. Both of them had been silent, it was an unspoken rule. None of them were ever really willing to break the moment with chatter that would most likely lead to an argument, but at that time, Naruto was so restless that he had _needed_ to break the silence.

-Flashback Start-

"_Sasuke."_

_Naruto felt Sasuke's whole body tense as the single word left his lips. He was pulled flush against the handsome man, and thus not a single movement of the raven escaped the blonde. The sudden tension could be sliced with a knife._

_However, Naruto ignored it._

_Not because he was the oblivious child of his past – far from it. He had needed it, really desperately craved it, their little 'routine' no longer enough to sate him._

_Trying to convey each and every one of his emotions in his voice, Naruto finally growled out._

"_Come back to Konoha with me."_

_Faster than the speed of light, the warm body around him vanished, and in the blink of an eye Naruto fell back against the hard ground with a thud. So filled with apprehension, he hardly noticed the pain._

_Sasuke was standing in front of him, doing up his purple belt, avoiding eye contact._

"_No."_

_He barely whispered it, but the clearing they were lying in was so deathly quiet it was more than enough. Now it was Naruto's turn to tense, and he inhaled sharply. He couldn't deny that he had been expecting this response, but hearing it cemented the fact and quashed any tiny sliver of hope he might have had._

_To put it simply, it goddamned __**hurt.**_

_It meant that Sasuke didn't love him – not that he ever assumed he did, anyway – and didn't care for him enough to even compromise._

_It was more than the poor blonde could take. The small thread of innocence that held the current Naruto to his childhood Naruto was stretched taught by his conflicting emotions, and this was the final straw._

_Naruto finally __**snapped.**_

_He'd had enough of this. He was tired, so very tired. It was time for him to stop living for others, and instead start thinking about __**himself.**__ It was what Kyuubi had been trying to tell him for years, and what his heart kept saying no against. But his heart was exhausted now; it didn't have the strength to keep defending its beliefs. And so it was, heart weighing heavily, that it gave in to his brain._

_His warm cerulean eyes – a crystal blue that was akin to a clear swimming pool on a blistering hot day – changed drastically. In an instant, those eyes were no longer forgiving and welcoming, instead becoming cold and calculating, that same blue now matching the hardness of ice. Fathomless, unreadable, ice._

_Dangerous ice._

_The blonde said nothing, lips thinning into a hard line. His gaze – neither hurt, glaring or condescending, altogether emotionless – bore into Sasuke's own, and Sasuke's breath caught. The raven found he couldn't look away; he'd been mesmerised by his blonde. After about a minute of mutual staring, Naruto seemed to come to a conclusion, finally looking away from Sasuke – his rival, friend, comrade, __**lover**__ – and picked up his scattered clothing, reaching into his backpack and dressing himself in his travel-worn uniform._

_Sasuke could only watch as Naruto turned around and faced the black depths of the surrounding forest, his back to Sasuke. With a graceful leap and not a word to the spellbound raven, he took to the trees, leaving the clearing._

_Without looking back._

-Flashback End-

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**Meh. So how, wasn't too bad right? Review please. **

**Btw, just a question. For those who have their own stories, under Document Manager, stories have a 'life' of 60 days. What happens if you don't 'renew' it? Do they get deleted and your stories disappear or something? Coz I've seen some authors with 100 over stories. Thx, I'd really appreciate it if you helped! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**And here's chapter 3! 8D Since the previous chapter was all SasuNaru, here's some of what has been happening back at Konoha. More Gaara action! 3 that guy. Anyway. Basically, this chapter is just like building up. Unfortunately, these first few chapters will have to be building up 'coz I hope this will be a nice and long one. But it's still cool! And like, ffnet has been bitching recently so cldnt get this up but this other author found a way around it and i got her help! :) You should check her out she's awesome Suzume-sama**

**A little humour after the previous chapter's sombreness ._.**

**Disclaimer: No own.**

**Enjoy!**

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Tsunade reached under the table for a bottle of sake. As she warily looked at her late-night visitors and their stony faces – she didn't believe Kakashi's fake eye crinkle for a second –, she rubbed her face tiredly, mentally sending whoever invented sake a big box of cookies.

Tsunade surveyed the room of men once more, psyching herself up for what was about to come. Jiraiya, she could handle. Kakashi… slightly more difficult, but with the other 25 bottles of sake in her drawer she was sure she could handle him. Iruka would be simply frightening, but being the impeccably polite and refined man he was would at least rein in his temper. The problem was, really, lying in the redhead less than half her age.

Gaara.

Politically, angering him would do much harm to the relationship Konoha had with Suna.

Politically, even if he did not express his anger to Tsunade, his court of Elders back in Suna would suffer and thus view Konoha unfavourably anyway.

Politically, the young Kazekage-to-be would be in low spirits, thus saddening his people - who had grown to love him after looking past the demon he once had in him – who would then start to doubt Konoha, not knowing the true reason of their redhead's discomfort.

Politically, that is. Quite frankly, this boy, this young, around a fourth of her age boy, scared her.

Her. Hokage of the reputable Hidden Village of the Leaves, one of the three legendary Sannin personally trained under Sarutobi, the Third. Scared of a little boy barely out of his teens.

Gaara increased his glare, making it known her hesitation was _not_ to his liking.

She shuddered.

Taking a huge gulp of healthy sake – shut up, all of you –, Tsunade heaved a heavy sigh, and began talking.

OOO

Gaara glared at the Fifth, fists clenched at his sides. He was a lot better at showing his emotions now, but it had its disadvantages as well. Such as when he was extremely pissed off. Like now.

Oh well.

Gaara didn't move a muscle, but the sand hand slamming down on the Hokage's desk spoke for itself. "How… How could you possibly let him _leave?_" Gaara's voice started out low and monotone, but even he couldn't keep his composure in such a situation. He just couldn't understand. Naruto had obviously acted impulsively, such as was his nature, but when they usually only got him in inconvenient but harmless situations, this decision could get him killed! What if the Akatsuki got him? What if the Kyuubi became too strong and Naruto unable to control him? What if he hurt himself practicing jutsus? What if…

What if _Sasuke_ got to him?

…

WHAT WOULD TSUNADE DO, HUH? SHE COULDN'T BLOODY WELL WRITE SOME HALF-ASSED LETTER, STAMP HER FUCKING STAMP AND WRITE IT OFF AS AN ACCIDENT, COULD SHE?

Gaara was so frustrated, he didn't even notice his sand slowly curling around the Hokage's neck, thin tendrils slicking along her skin. He had closed his eyes in an attempt at curbing his anger, and thus could not see what his sand was doing.

The other men in the room saw, but weren't too concerned. After all, they knew that the Hokage could hold her own. The only problem was, the Hokage looked as if she herself was incredibly tired and worn out, and didn't seem to be able or about to do anything about the potentially life-threatening danger she was in. She just stared tiredly at Gaara's scrunched face, and sighed.

Even though she was afraid of the young man, she trusted him. Why? The reason as simple.

Because Naruto did.

Oh, and also because it would be politically advantageous to the both of them in the future, having this tiny smidge of trust.

Not that she thought Gaara could trust anyone other than his family and Naruto.

But still, it was the politically correct thing to do.

Tsunade rubbed her forehead, aggravated with herself. Her thought patterns had not been making any sense these past few hours, ever since the ANBU had come back in the middle of her meeting with the other men, reporting…

Nothing.

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

They couldn't find Naruto; it seemed as if he'd disappeared off the face of the Earth. Needless to say, Tsunade had immediately sent the men back to search.

She hadn't been able to concentrate since. It was now about half an hour later, and where was the great Tsunade? In her office being slowly strangled by her supposed 'ally'. She had wanted to go out on her own, but of course her Hokage duties kept her grounded in Konoha. She'd sent out whatever slugs she could summon, but they had all come back shortly after the ANBU reporting that nothing had been found. Pakkun had been unable to track his scent as well; Kakashi had tried that the second the mission report left the ANBU captain's mouth. Jiraiya's toads couldn't find anything either, and Iruka was reluctant to summon his animals.

Well, that was what she assumed.

She knew that Iruka could summon animals; the Umino family was known in Konoha for their exceptional animal summons. What these animals were, however, few people knew, for the Uminos used their summons only with great caution and only when absolutely necessary. They also liked to keep it a secret, and thus only Konoha's people knew of this skill unique to the Uminos.

Tsunade, of course, frowned upon this, but now, instead of disapproval, she felt a small sense of respect for this Chuunin leveled teacher. Why? Everyone knew how much the sensei loved Uzumaki Naruto. And yet, he hadn't summoned his animals even though it had been over 5 hours since Naruto had gone 'missing' and ANBU, Kakashi's dogs, Jiraiya's toads and her own slugs had found neither hide nor hair of him.

While Tsunade had been lost in her own world, Gaara was still trying desperately to get his emotions under control, unaware of the tightening coils of sand around Konoha's Hokage. Jiraiya was looking worriedly at his old friend and Kakashi's book was a little more crumpled than usual. Iruka looked as if he were about to jump out of his chair any moment know, knuckles white on fisted hands.

Tsunade, really wanting to just get _on_ with it already, suddenly slammed the flat of her palm on her desk.

Gaara's eyes shot open.

He immediately withdrew his sand, apologized curtly, and, to the confusion of the other occupants, left the room.

* * *

**A mini-cliffie! Just what, exactly, is Gaara up to?**

**And do I sense some GaaNaru?**

**XD**


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